What the Marchers in Washington Want

A scene from the Women's March on Washington.CreditSam Hodgson for The New York Times

Many of those marching in Washington on Saturday were concerned about their futures under President Trump. They worried about the administration turning back the clock on hard-won civil rights and reproductive rights.Here are some of the women and men who joined the protest and the messages they carried for the new president.

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From left: Jazmine, Tiffany and Justice Samuels.
CreditSam Hodgson for The New York Times

Jazmine Samuels, 19, of Fairmont, W.V., was concerned that Mr. Trump's policies would intensify the discrimination she faces as a black woman. Her sister, Justice, a 21-year-old student at West Virginia University, wanted Mr. Trump to know that "I don't want a man to stop me from getting to where I want to be."

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CreditSam Hodgson for The New York Times

"I'm here to stand up for equality for everybody, equal pay for equal work, the right for women to choose what to do with their own reproductive health," said Allie Weiner, 29, of Cincinnati.

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CreditSam Hodgson for The New York Times

"Fear that many of the programs that I care about are going to be replaced or changed" brought Norma Byers, 71, of Columbia, Maryland to the march. "This is not the end of this movement," she said. "People are organizing and feeling motivated and we're here to resist."

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CreditSam Hodgson for The New York Times

Nicole Monaco, 26, had come from Bloomington, Ind., to protest sexual violence against women. She was there with a PTSD service dog, Moosh.

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CreditSam Hodgson for The New York Times

Kris Usselman, 67, a nurse from Columbus, Ohio, believes reproductive rights are under greater threat now than at any time since the early 1970s. "As clinicians, we don't want abortion to be illegal," said Rachel Usselman, who is studying to be a nurse practitioner and was marching with her.

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Shonali Guinney, right, with her daughter Arya.CreditSam Hodgson for The New York Times

Shonali Guinney of Mill Valley, Calif., and two friends brought their teenage daughters "because this is the first election they really paid attention to, and they felt the need to speak out." Her daughter Arya, 17, said she'd applied to colleges where she felt she could comfortably speak about her views. "I plan on continuing to exercise my right to free speech and protesting no matter where I go," she said.

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CreditSam Hodgson for The New York Times

Joia Nuri, 63, saw the march as an opportunity for women to talk to one another about more than what are traditionally considered women's issues. She was glad the organizers made an effort to include women of color in the march. "This is a time for the conversation to start in a way that didn't happen in the ’60s," she said.Her message to Mr. Trump: "I don't want life to go back to 1950. I'm going to fight hard, maybe harder than my grandparents. He should beware."

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Gage John Lazare, left, and Ricardo Sebastian.CreditSam Hodgson for The New York Times

Ricardo Sebastian, 30, of New York, was excited by the way the march brought together organizations representing different minority groups. "The way that this all came together is beautiful," he said. His headpiece was handmade in Michoacán, Mexico, where his family is from. He was with Gage John Lazare, 26, who wore traditional clothes of his Mohawk heritage. Mr. Lazare's plan for the next four years: "I have to be gayer, I have to be more open, I have to love more, I have to kiss more. Everything I want I've got to give out times ten, because they're shutting the doors on everything right now."

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CreditSam Hodgson for The New York Times

Jenna Brendler, 21, is the daughter of two veterans. Now that Mr. Trump is president, she said, "We may not respect the man, but we respect the office. I would like him to know that that's how he makes people of the army feel." She was wearing a skirt once owned by her aunt, who died two years ago and attended every inauguration during her lifetime.

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Erika Northington, left, and Brittnee Sellers.CreditSam Hodgson for The New York Times

Erika Northington, 28, of Washington, had come to stand up for reproductive rights: "To think that birth control is in danger in any way is so scary." She was with Brittnee Sellers, also 28, who was concerned about police brutality, immigrants' rights and mass incarceration. Asked what she wanted the president to know about her, Ms. Sellers said: "that I matter."